Canadian films always seem to have one great flaw in their identity, which is their lack of one. For one reason or another, Canadian films never embrace their own country or culture, instead going for stories that feel universal by not making Canada stand out in the background. Very few films try to break the mold and this buddy-cop, action flick seemed to have done it, being the most lucrative film in the Canadian box-office, which isn't saying much given the population of the country. When a murder victim is laid on the Ontario-Quebec border, two detectives from both provinces are forced to work on the case. Both officers can't stand each other as the Quebecious, David Bouchard, is too reckless and a loose cannon compared to the Ontarian, Martin Ward. The two have to work together though in order to stop a killing spree that has to deal with the most beloved Canadian past-time, hockey. Despite the large Canadian influence on the setting and narrative, it's your typical buddy-cop formula where the two leads hate each other, but grow to accept one another as partners. It doesn't help that the villain's motivation, which I will get into later, is too weak and silly to take seriously in contrast to the grounded reality and better films of the genre. The story and set-up feels more akin to a television show rather than a two-hour movie due to its poor pacing. Well, as long as the film delivers on the laughs, it can make up for the lackluster narrative, right? Not really. While there are a few laughs to be had, there's not enough momentum with the comedy and it all depends on the subject matter of the jokes. When it focuses on the Ontario-Quebec language banter, it works, but only Canadians or those who understand their history and politics would understand the humour. Remove that out, it really relies on awkward humour or misplaced delivery.
The characters in buddy-cop films tend to save their respective films, aside from the action, comedy and filmmaking. Thankfully, the protagonists are likeable enough to see them together on screen, but that's all you can really say about the cast. David Bouchard, played by Patrick Huard, is the hot-headed Montreal resident who tends to break the rules while trying to be a good father to his daughter. Martin Ward, played by Colm Feroe, is the straight-collar Toronto officer who follows the rules and lives with his teenaged son and attractive sister. Again, these roles are pretty generic for this type of movie, but it's Huard and Feroe's performances that manage to offer some believable chemistry and banter while fitting their respective characters quite well. It's a bit weird that both characters are bilingual despite the satirical concept of the film, but it makes perfect sense for officers in both provinces to know both English and French. For the villains, there's Sylvain Marcel as Luc Therrin, a disgruntled former hockey player who seeks revenge against his employers while wearing horror-esque hockey masks. While Marcel works well for the side-villain as his motivation and comedic offerings flow naturally, it's Patrice Belanger's Tattoo Killer that really sinks the overall murder mystery and plot as a whole. The Tattoo Killer is revealed to be some geeky loser who hates how the not-NHL is selling off great players and teams to the U.S as it's ruining the great game and Canadian nature of hockey. While the character is meant to be satirical and one that can be viewed in a meta lens, he's still not a good villain as his motivations seem too goofy for the otherwise grounded reality the film sets itself in. Aside from that, the side characters offer the bare minimum. The two captains of the respective provinces as well as the coroner are just here for comedy sake, Buttman is just a parody of an actual person and being a joke for his height and name, the teenaged daughter and son of the lead characters do absolutely nothing aside from the daughter being kidnapped during the climax, the ex-wife of Bouchard is just there to get angry at Bouchard for their daughter getting kidnapped, and Ward's sister is there to be hot and have a clever sex scene with Bouchard while Ward is fighting Luc downstairs. The only side character I think is actually well-done is Tom Berry, a parody of hockey commentator, Don Cherry, played by Rick Mercer. He's only in two scenes, but he does the comedic/angry rants to great effect and the scene with him and the lead characters while the Tattoo Killer calls in is pretty funny. Aside from that, the actors and actresses do their roles fine, but it's only Bouchard, Ward, Therrin, and Cherry that really grab your attention.
Erik Canuel may get himself credit for making a Canadian action film that's also bilingual, which is a rarity of the films produced from the country, but that's all you can really say about it. While not horrible, Canuel's directing is pretty amateur and feels TV-show quality at times. This is evident when you notice the limited budget onscreen. The NHL and its respective hockey teams are not represented by their real names or logos, but by these weird parodies and knock-off logos. The various news stations are also like this with one even having the IOI logo for some reason. While the film is proud to say it is set in both Toronto and Montreal, the film never feels like it's set in these cities. Aside from a few montages showing off the cityscape and the climax set on the Old Port in Montreal, the characters never explore their cities or walk around a notable neighbourhood or park. Once again, this might be due to budget constraints, but it leaves a sour taste in my mouth as I really want to see cities from my country properly represented and exposed. The cinematography by Bruce Chun also feels really cheap and bland as there's way too much panning or shaky cam involved. It also makes every scene, even if it's an exterior, feel like it's shot on a set. The music by Michel Corriveau is so generic-sounding it's pathetic. Whenever an action sequence begins, the score is trying way too hard to appear like it's really epic or awesome that what you're seeing onscreen. The soundtrack at least does offer some decent French rock songs, but it's strangely missing English songs. Budget issues or favouritism? The action sequences are fairly unimaginative in regards to the fights, shootouts and chases. Aside from a scene where Bouchard is evading a fire with a bathtub and the aforementioned sex/fight scene, the action is really underwhelming and uninspired. The worst thing about the filmmaking by far however is the editing by Jean-Francois Bergeron. Imagine the worst aspects of digital editing from the 2000's era from infamous movies and music videos and multiply it tenfold. While the sex/fight scene along with a few transitions are actually well edited, the rest of the movie is just awfully paced or feature abrupt scenes, transitions or movements. The movie literally ends right when the villain dies with no epilogue or resolution to the characters and family drama. Like, the editing is really that bad, and it really dates the movie along with the grungy, digital look the film carries. Again, I appreciate Canuel's efforts, but that's all I can appreciate from him.
"Bon Cop, Bad Cop" is such an unfortunate film to talk about. From the cookie-cutter buddy cop story, the jokes that miss more than they hit, the Tattoo Killer is a laughably stupid villain conceptually, the side cast are either pointlessly there or comic relief that are lucky to offer more than one good joke, Chun's camerawork makes the film look as cheap as it really is, Corriveau's score sounds like more like stock music you can rip out from Youtube, the majority of the action is boring and unimaginative, the editing by Bergeron harms the film more than it makes it cohesive, and the direction by Canuel really shows how cheap and restrictive the project has in contrast to such high potential. There are still some things to salvage though. The use of the Canadian and bilingual aesthetic overlaying on a typical buddy-cop movie does give it a huge edge in terms of being distinctively Canadian (regardless of budget limitation), the comedy does at least offer a few good laughs and chuckles when it prioritizes on the bilingual concept, Bouchard and Ward are good leads with believable chemistry and quirks that is thanks to their performers, Marcel and Mercer are having a ball as Therrin and Berry, the soundtrack has really good French rock songs, and the sex/fight sequence is perhaps the stand-out scene of the film due to its concept and competent editing. Despite all of the negative qualities, the film is still important to Canadian cinema and culture because it does try to have Canada feel like the attention of the spotlight in contrast to more prestigious offerings. However, if one removes that impact, you get an extremely mediocre buddy-cop film with poor production values and hit and miss comedy and action potential.
Verdict: 4.5/10. Below-average buddy-cop action-comedy flick for the most part. Still an achievement for the barren identity of Canadian cinema, for better or worse.
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